The Cross an Object or Example of Faith?

It is common today to assert that Jesus' death was primarily an example apart from any notion of substitution or propitiation. The origin of this belief can be traced to Faustus Socinus who rooted his belief on 1 Peter 2:21 and 1 John 2:6. Of course neither fully defend his assertion that Jesus died to give us an example of love (a point similar to the moral influence theory of the atonement made popular by Abelard and Horace Bushnell). In 1 Peter 2:24, for example, Peter makes it clear that not only is the cross an example for believers on how to suffer well, but it is also substitutionary. He writes, and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

There is another reason why Socinus' theory of the atonement falls flat. Consider the following illustration from Dr. Millard Erickson:

Suppose that a house is on fire. The parents have escaped, only to discover that their infant child is still within the burning house. Physically overcome, they are unable to reenter the home. A fireman, however, rushed into the house, saves the child, but in the process is himself overcome and dies. This would certainly be considered a beautiful example of love for one's fellow human at a disregard for his own safety. It would indeed be inspiring to others. But suppose there is no child in the house, and the parents insist that there is no child, and the fireman himself believes that no one is in the house. If he nonetheless rushed into the house and died, would we be impressed by the example, or would we consider it a case of foolhardiness? No one would want to emulate such an example and, indeed, no one ought to. And what of a superior who would order a fireman into the flames just to give an example of how dedicated firemen should be and to what lengths they should be willing to go in the call of duty? Should anyone follow such an order? Yet Christ's death represents this type of situation if the purpose of the atonement was not to pay the penalty for our sins, but simply to give us an example. One the other hand, if there really is a child in the house, not only is the child saved, but we are given an example of bravery and unselfishness. Similarly, if humanity is guilty of sin and condemned to death, and Christ has laid down his life in the place of the human race, not only are we saved, but we are given an example of how to live. The death of Christ is an example, but only if it also is a substitutionary sacrifice. (836-837)

This is a very important point. If the atonement is only about love and God's example of what love looks like, it is empty if it isn't a rescue operation for sinners like you and me.


May 26, 2013 | Why the Cross Matters
June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor  
June 9, 2013 | Jesus Won: Christus Victor
June 23, 2013 | The Courtroom: Sola Fida


For more:
We are Slaves: MacArthur on What We Are Redeemed From

The Heart & Soul of Christianity: MacArthur on Redemption
A Victorious People: John Stott on Christus Victor & the Vocabular of the First Christians
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
Its Not Just a Theory: Stott on Penal Substitution
John Stott on the The Human Enigma 
Allison: A History of the Doctrine of the Atonement
"Salvation Brings Imitation": Piper on Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 1 - Introduction
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 2 - Christus Exemplar and the doctrine of sin and depravity
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 3 - The History of Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 4 - Christus Exemplar and Humility
Sanctification Demands It: The Necessity of the Atonement
"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll
"In My Place, Condemned He Stood"
"It is Well"
"Precious Blood": A Review